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Tesco supports the British Heart Foundation’s London to Brighton Bike Ride

Tesco and charity partner the BHF hope that every mile pedalled by the 15,000 cyclists taking part will make a huge difference to families affected by cardiovascular disease.

Tesco and charity partner the BHF hope that every mile pedalled by the 15,000 cyclists taking part will make a huge difference to families affected by cardiovascular disease.

In the event’s four-decade history, over 750,000 cyclists from all over the UK have taken part in the ride, pedalling over 40 million miles and helping raise over £57m for the BHF’s life saving research into heart disease. The London to Brighton Bike Ride is the oldest charity bike ride in Europe.

One of our colleagues Paul Geldart, a Night Shift Warehouse Manager from our Middlesbrough Distribution Centre, has a very personal reason to take part in this year’s London to Brighton Bike Ride on Sunday 19 June. His dad Bill suffered a heart attack on 26 December 2015.

We rushed to South Tees Hospital, where consultants informed us surgery was out of the question, as my dad had a pre-existing lung condition. They told us his options were limited.

Just as we were about to lose hope, cardiologists at the James Cook University Hospital suggested a brand new procedure which used the HeartMate PHP cardiac assist device. This new equipment would pump blood around the body to keep his heart beating at a normal rhythm as four stents were inserted into his arteries.

It was risky. My dad would be the world’s first to have this procedure, but we didn’t have much choice if we wanted him to pull through.

We decided to go ahead with the procedure and thankfully it was a success. My dad made a remarkable recovery. What the hospital did was amazing, but it’s thanks to the BHF that devices like these can be developed to increase survival rates of people undergoing heart surgery.

That’s why I’ve signed up to the London to Brighton Bike Ride. I signed up for the cycle after hearing about it at work.”

Paul also knows what it’s like to suffer from ill health, having been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. This drove him to take up cycling to help keep himself healthy and on weekends can cycle up to 100 miles.